Bridge Overhaul Bids Are $2M Over Budget

Construction bids for the overhaul of the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge have come in about $2 million over budget.

Five companies submitted construction bids for the project, which is funded with $19.497 million from the state Department of Transportation. On Wednesday Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority officials opened the bids, with offers for base bids ranging from $21,334,883 to $26,792,550.

"While we are understandably disappointed by today's apparent bid results we are working diligently in conjunction with state DOT and our elected officials to find additional funding for this key regional structure," OBPA Executive Director Wade A. Davis said. "Nothing has been awarded at this point. These are only apparent results."

He said engineers Greenman-Pedersen Inc., Babylon, must further review the bids before the authority will look into altering or canceling the project.

"There needs to be diligence done to ensure everything will add up to those numbers," Mr. Davis said. "Those results will be presented to us and state DOT, in the interim it's apparent there's an unmet need there between the base bid and the announced budgetary figure."

Base bids for the project include replacing the decking, stringers and railing on the main span, and the alternate bids are for painting, among other things, Mr. Davis said.

A recent inspection of the 59-year-old suspension bridge found the bridge is in fair to good condition, but a January report from the state attorney general's office found the bridge to have serious deterioration, or is not functioning as originally designed. The bridge was given a 4.3 rating out of seven.

According to Mr. Davis, the bridge needs a $100 million overhaul, and about $32 million in state and federal grants to continue the work are pending.

The DOT has allocated $21.778 million for the project through the state Department of Transportation Bond Act of 2005, with $700,000 for design, $1.581 million for inspection and $19.497 million for construction.

The authority has already spent about $930,000 for engineering and inspection on the main span overhaul, and $369,000 on getting the bridge approach "shovel-ready" for federal grants, Mr. Davis said.

Following are the bids OBPA received for renovation work on the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge:

* American Bridge Company, Coraopolis, Pa.: base bid, $21,334,883; alternate, $4,083,000; total, $25,417,883

■ Cianbro Corp., Pittsfield, Maine: base bid, $23,949,724; alternate, $4,389,901; total, $28,339,635

* D.A. Collins Construction Corp., Mechanicville: base bid, $24,742,272.70; alternate, $3,462,000; total, $28,202,272.70

* Piasecki Steel Construction Corp., Castleton: base bid, $26,792,550; alternate, $5,220,000; total, $32,012,550

■ Vector Construction Corp., Cicero: base bid, $24,298,593.50; alternate, $6,509,000; total, $30,807593.50